At last, Shard lures tenants

THE 74-year-old former market trader behind the Shard skyscraper in London
could soon breathe a sigh of relief, writes Oliver Shah.

More than six months after the inauguration of Europe’s tallest tower, Irvine
Sellar is close to securing tenants for several of its 25 floors of office
space.

His company is understood to be in talks with Duff & Phelps, the restructuring
specialist that handled the administration of Glasgow Rangers, and with
South Hook Liquefied Natural Gas, which built a fuel terminal in south Wales.

Sellar is also in discussions with Al Jazeera, the Middle Eastern broadcaster.
Al Jazeera and South Hook LNG are both controlled by Qatar, which stepped in
to fund the £1.5bn construction of the Shard.

The leasing of three floors would dampen speculation that Sellar is struggling
to attract tenants. Other than three restaurants and the Shangri-La hotel,
which has taken 18 floors, the tower is